


whose heart could i break today?

by LittleDragonPrince



Series: love is a tower where all of us can live [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Don't Read This, Gen, Other, in which case PLEASE read this, unless you're in the SDS discord & i sent you this link
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-20 19:26:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15541317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDragonPrince/pseuds/LittleDragonPrince
Summary: “Don’t - be like that,” Gluttony said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. As if sensing the question about to leave Pride’s lips -like what?- he continued, words clipped and exasperated, “Don’t act all victimized because people are mad at you. We’re mad at Envy now, too, you should be happy.”“I am happy,” replied Pride with a glower.xxxa study of pride & envys 'friendship' over the course of just over a month





	whose heart could i break today?

**Author's Note:**

> sickle summed this fic up best when it called this the "pride go to therapy challenge"
> 
> this was supposed to be a really short study of the dynamic between pride & envy, but then before i knew it it was 35+ pages long and it had been two months since i'd started it and uhh here we are, now. i'm posting it on ao3 because gettin feedback intermittently on discord, while fun, is a lil bit confusing! & tbh im kinda vain! & would like to have the feedback all in one place.
> 
> also again. two months of work. it really doesnt feel like its officially Done until its taken off of googledocs and put somewhere solid.
> 
> if u arent sickle, darwin, danny, bucky, chip, or luma, i rlly don't know why you would wanna be reading this ... like, there's NOTHING here for u, just go.
> 
> title is from ["two time"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZik4fKw3G0) by jack stauber

Officially, it was Envy’s job – and Envy’s job alone – to socialize for the sake of a heist. Xe was the team’s smooth-talker, the distraction, the one who could both blend in with a crowd and charm a target into giving up information. But the art gallery they were going to case was too big for one person to explore fully within an hour without appearing suspiciously rushed, so two people would need to go.

Their options were… limited, however. The last time Sloth had been assigned to go with Envy to case a joint at such a public gathering, it had ended in disaster; Gluttony flat out refused to do social events if it wasn’t completely necessary or Pride wasn’t paired up with him; Lust needed to hang back at headquarters to provide surveillance through the – stunningly easily – hacked security cameras; Wrath had recently sustained a rather nasty and impossible to conceal wound to the head, which wouldn’t work in such a fancy setting; and Greed was set to be the getaway ride and emergency backup, as always. Which meant the only person who could go with Envy to the gala was…

“Pride,” Wrath’s voice cut through the silent and stuffy air of the warehouse, forcing Pride to tune back into a pre-mission meeting fae had been admittedly paying minimal attention to. The seven of them were sat around a table, like they _always_ were in the days or weeks or sometimes months before a heist, and this conversation had been dragging on _forever_ , as it _always_ did. Fae quirked faer eyebrows up to indicate fae was listening, and Wrath tried and failed to conceal a sigh as she said, “You’re to accompany Envy to the gallery opening, to check the place out and locate the specific pieces we’re after, got it?”

To Pride, this was fantastic news; judging by the intrigued smile on Envy’s face, xe felt the same. Of all the members of the crew, Pride and Envy had the most in common – extroverted, flashy, fashionable, and charismatic. Fae had always considered the other a kindred spirit, someone fae could really _connect_ to.

“Wipe that grin off your face, right now, _both_ of you,” said Wrath, sounding more tired than truly pissed off. Pride’s self-satisfied feeling washed away instantly, replaced by frustration (something fae felt often at these meetings) and confusion (something fae felt constantly, in any setting). “I really don’t want to send you into the field together, but… we haven’t got a choice.”

Envy appeared to be just as bewildered by this information as Pride. “I think this is a great idea!” xe proclaimed, and Pride nodded in agreement – an act of solidarity that only made Wrath’s expression sour even _more_. Ideas that Envy and Pride liked were usually… unpopular amongst the crew. “Nobody else is as comfortable as me in social settings. This is the best choice.”

Wrath palmed at a bruise on his cheek in agitation and didn’t even bother _trying_ to stifle his sigh this time, “That may be true, but you two are… horrible as a team. Like, just… simply awful.”

“That is slanderous!” Pride said, smacking one hand flat on the table for emphasis. Gluttony, who was sat next to faer, shot such a venomous glare in faer direction at the noise that fae wilted backwards into faer seat, self-righteousness turning to a petulant pout in a heartbeat, “Me and Envy are _great_ friends. We’re peas in a pod. Tell ‘im, Envy.”

Before Envy could get a word in edgewise, however, Wrath huffed, “I know you two _think_ you get along, but trust me – you don’t. Of any two people on this team, your guys’s fights are the most explosive.” Wrath turned to look Pride dead in the eyes. “Literally.”

“Unfair, man,” Envy said as Pride clutched faer chest in reproach, “I mean, all friendships have their ups and downs!”

“You literally set fire to Pride’s bed just last week, Envy,” Wrath deadpanned; the smugness on Envy’s face shattered so suddenly Pride couldn’t help but bark out a laugh at xer expense. Both Wrath and Envy turned to glare at faer for _that_ ; the former said, tone cold and so, _so_ tired, “Because _you_ stole two-thousand dollars in cash from Envy’s room, Pride.”

And if Pride suddenly became completely and totally engrossed in examining faer new acrylics, well, that was unrelated to Wrath’s accusation. Fae just really liked to admire faer own nails. It was a lot better than listening to these pre-heist meetings, at least.

**xxx**

“I mean, can you believe she _said_ that to me?” Pride all but yelled, gesticulating wildly with faer right hand and sending flecks of sunflower yellow nail polish flying, “In front of _the whole crew_?”

“No. It’s unbelievable,” Gluttony replied, voice flat – though Pride didn’t register the bored tone, too busy applying a layer of lacquer to faer middle toe again.  The duo were in the common area of the warehouse, Gluttony perched on the couch a foot and a half away from where Pride sat, sprawled out and leaning against the ottoman.

“Right! God!” Pride barely waited for Gluttony to finish speaking before fae began shouting again, face scrunched up in a mixture of concentration and anger. Fae had hoped the meticulous task of painting faer toenails would soothe faer, but when Gluttony had walked into the room and provided faer with the opportunity to vent about faer feelings instead, any hope of faer quietly simmering down vanished. “The _nerve_ of some people, I swear.”

A soft grunt was the only response Gluttony gave, and it was all Pride needed to huff dramatically and flick more nail polish across the hardwood floor as fae spoke. “Envy and I are _great_ friends! We’re great,” fae said, moving onto the next toe, “You agree with me, right? ‘Course you do!”

There was a moment of silence as Pride waited for a sound of assent from Gluttony – when nothing was said after a full twenty seconds, the realization struck faer. Faer head snapped up with a gasp to glare at faer companion, slouched and apathetic in the corner of the sofa. “You _don’t_ agree with me! You think Wrath was right!”

“He is,” Gluttony said, blunt as ever. He continued to be unfazed by Pride’s indignant sputtering, but made sure to elaborate quickly, “You two _do_ fight a lot, that’s just… objective fact. How you don’t notice it is fuckin’ wild to me.”

“Just ‘cause we fight don’t mean we aren’t friends!” was Pride’s retort, the same as it had been during the meeting where this whole mess had started, “I mean – me and you, we fight a lot, and we’re _best_ friends!”

Gluttony didn’t say anything to that, just curled the corner of his lip back in disgust and squirmed a little in his seat in the way that let Pride know he was violently uncomfortable with something fae had just said. On a better day, Pride would have felt guilty and changed the subject entirely; on a worse day, fae would have pushed the issue, because absolutely _nothing_ fae had said here was wrong or weird, and Gluttony had no reason to be looking at faer like _that_.

As it was, though, fae just rolled faer eyes and said, “Or whatever. I mean, like… Everyone fights, is what I mean. Just because you fight with someone sometimes doesn’t mean you’re _always_ fighting, so Wrath has no reason to worry about the gala.”

“If you say so,” came the deadpan reply, and Pride was so relieved that Gluttony wasn’t too upset with faer that the anger melted away, right as fae finished painting faer pinky toe.

“I _do_ say so,” fae said, smiling wide at Gluttony and wiggling faer newly painted feet in his direction. When he looked unmoved, the smile morphed into a frown. “Is the yellow too bright?... Not bright enough? Ooo, maybe I should get out a pink…”

**xxx**

For the first hour or so of the gala, things went _wonderfully._ Envy went through security first, followed by Pride twenty minutes later, to ensure they weren’t see as together. They roamed separate parts of the gallery at a leisurely pace, making small talk with other attendees between bites of finger food. Through bluetooth radio disguised as earrings, the rest of the crew could communicate with the both of them; Lust and Wrath gave orders and directions (the other three were providing snarky but useless commentary; Pride hid faer smirks behind faer hand to the best of faer ability).

There were three targets located in the gallery - two paintings, each valued at about three thousand dollars, and a statue with several real-gold components. Pride and Envy’s job was to locate each of the art pieces, the nearest security cameras to the art pieces, an entrance-slash-exit route, and the main security office. The first part was easy, obviously, and Pride had to admit, once fae saw the paintings they were after, fae didn’t quite get the hype. Classical art had never quite been faer speed, but judging by the quiet compliments Lust was paying the art in faer ear, fae figured it was meant to be impressive. Envy looked similarly disinterested, the few times Pride caught sight of xer from across the floor of the gallery, so at least fae wasn’t alone in faer boredom.

“They’re doing really well, actually,” fae heard Sloth mumble through the speaker, “Damn. They might pull it off.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Wrath muttered to Sloth; to Pride and Envy, he said, “Both of you, meet in the main atrium, where the statue is – one of you is going to have to break off and find the nearest bathroom or supply closet – preferably a bathroom, less chance of cameras - and check if there’s any removable ceiling tiles for a potential route in and out.”

Unable to speak aloud without completely ruining the mission, Pride settled for a subtle nod (aimed in the direction of a painting fae was fake-admiring, to make the motion seem natural) and started to head in the direction of the largest room of the gallery, where faer mission had started. Once there, fae hovered for a bit, until fae saw Envy enter from a doorway on the opposite end of the room.

The two made eye contact, a brief smile exchanged between them, and then Wrath was speaking in their ears again; “Okay, Envy, you did research into a few of the artists here, right?” there was a beat; Pride couldn’t see Envy any more, but could imagine xer drumming xer fingers against xer right hip – the predetermined signal for _yes_ , “Including Bonaventura Longo, who did that, uhh – kind of opal-looking sculpture near the center of the room – do you see it?” Another beat. “Yeah. Head towards that, and use that stuff you read to make up a story about meeting the guy. Be _loud_.”

Approximately ten seconds passed in silence, before the unmistakable voice of Envy rang through the somber hall of the gallery – “Oh, this piece was done by Longo? _The_ Bonaventura Longo? Well, ha, he and I go _way_ back. Did you know that?” It was then that Pride spotted xer through the throng of people, arms spread dramatically, speaking to a small crowd and gesturing for others to come towards xer. It was an amusing sight to see; fae bit back a smile.

“Pride,” Wrath said in faer ear; fae twitched faer head to the side slightly to let her know fae was listening, but most of faer attention was stuck on Envy, wooing the room full of people, “Nobody should notice if you start heading out of the gallery and towards the East Wing, where there _should_ be a staff-only bathroom, if our info is correct. Hurry, though.”

And Pride did hurry – or fae started to, at least. Fae couldn’t pry faer eyes away from Envy, making grandeur hand movements and speaking in the hollow, fake voice xe always used on these types of missions. Faer footsteps slowed to a stop right by the doorway of the atrium.

“Pride?... What are you doing?” came Wrath’s cautious voice in faer ear, but fae was barely listening. It felt like a big pit had opened in faer stomach, though fae couldn’t _quite_ place why. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation – fae felt it often around Envy, a kind of empty, angry feeling similar to jealousy but… not quite. It didn’t make any sense, it never did, and the rush of confusion only made things worse as Pride took a half-step back towards the center of the room. “Pride, what the fuck are- you need to follow orders. Get out of there.”

“I actually helped him find inspiration for his piece, _Thyrus_ , you know,” xe proclaimed. Pride took a couple steps closer, glanced around at the faces of the attendees to see them all enthralled, completely unaware of faer presence amongst them at all, “We were hiking by the Nera River together in, what was it, 2009?”

Xe never got to say whatever xe had planned on saying next, however, before Pride took three long strides so fae was standing directly across from Envy, glaring down at xer from only a foot away. “You know Bonaventeara, too?” As soon as the Italian name clumsily left faer mouth, fae winced - that couldn’t have been pronounced right, judging by the string of curses faer teammates were letting loose in faer earpiece and the look on Envy’s face. It was too late to back down, though, “Wow, well, he and I go way, _way_ back. We’re good friends to this day, even!”

To Envy’s credit, xe didn’t back down, either, just squared xer shoulders a little and replied in a voice only slightly less confident than before, “Oh, wonderful! Always great to meet other appreciators of his art,” xe said, and after a half-second of silence between them, a sharp grin split across xer face, “Which piece of his is your favorite?”

“Envy knows Pride knows nothing about art, right?” fae heard Greed ask; the smug look on Envy’s face was answer enough.

Xe _definitely_ knew.

“Well, it’s this one right here, of course,” Pride said, barely missing a beat, with a motion towards the statue they were standing beside. It depicted a wolf-like beast, back arched and hackles raised, made of opalescent stone. Fae looked it up and down and tried to think of something to say about it; Lust had been complimenting the texture and the colors of paintings all night, that could be applied to a statue, right? “The… pastel, shimmering colors… contrast nicely with the very… rough texture of the animal’s fur in a rather dramatic way, wouldn’t you agree?”

There was a rippling murmur through the gathered crowd of attendees, as well as a quiet and impressed, “Huh,” in faer ear from Gluttony. Pride would have to remember to thank Lust later for talking so damn much the entire mission.

Envy didn’t look moved, though, just cocked xer head at Pride and sneered, “What’s the statue’s name, then?”

And this time Pride _did_ have to stumble, a moment of hesitation that made it clear fae couldn’t win this argument. Glancing down at the base of the state, fae saw the statue’s name engraved upon a plaque and could feel the smugness radiating off of Envy as fae realized it was written in Italian.

“That’s not fair!” Pride huffed, dropping all pretense, because fae was the bigger man, and therefore willing to give up in a spectacular way, “You know that I don’t speak the language!”

“Do these two know each other? Did they come in together, I didn’t see them come in--”

“God fucking damn it, Greed, you might have to get your weapons ready, these two--”

From far, far away, Pride could hear people talking - some voices rippling around the room in quiet, nervous murmurs, and others yelling panicked commands right in faer ears - but none of it was really registering as words, merely as background noise. All fae was really focused on was Envy, standing in front of faer, arms spread wide in a challenge.

“Is it unfair?” xe said, the fake smile dropping off xer face not long after Pride had abandoned faer own, “I don’t think it is, Pride, maybe just - don’t butt into what I’m doing next time!”

“Did they just say that man’s name is ‘Pride’? He introduced himself to me as Leon earlier--”

“You shouldn’t go through the main entrance -- dammit, did they ever find a way through the back or--”

“Or _maybe,_ next time,” retorted Pride, hands going to faer hips in indignation, because Envy was _always_ like this, always had to pick a fight with faer, and it was really starting to get old, “You can just play along! And not be a stubborn dick!”

“Who are these people - someone get security, this feels off, this feels--”

“If we don’t get in there soon, it’s gonna be too late, shit--”

“Sir?” a deep voice said, shockingly close to Pride’s ear, “You need to come with me, sir.”

And _that_ was what it took to snap Pride out of it, to make faer realize that fae wasn’t alone and arguing with Envy, that they were in fact surrounded by a crowd of scandalized civilians and flanked by museum security guards, one of whom had a hand curled around Pride’s upper arm. Staring across at Envy - terrified and sandwiched between two men in uniform - only one thought came into Pride’s mind: _I can’t believe Sloth actually jinxed it._

“Fuck it, just go through the main entrance, guns blazing - Gluttony and I are on our way to help-,”

“No!” the word was out of Pride’s mouth before fae could think better of it, but it succeeded in making Wrath shut up. Fae stuttered for a second, grasping for a lie to feed the bewildered guard still holding faer arm, “No, I-I’ll come with you, just please let go of me. I’m not resisting. I’ll - we’ll come quietly.”

There was a long and silent pause as the guard by Pride’s side exchanged glances with the two men looming beside Envy. After some kind of unspoken agreement was reached, however, the guard holding Pride’s arm spun faer around by the shoulder so fae was facing the exit of the atrium. “Come with us,” the guard said tersely, and let go of faer completely.

From there, Pride and Envy were escorted through the halls of the museum, out of the gallery and past the gift-shop and into the main security office, located beside the museum’s personal restaurant. The guards gestured to a set of seats; Pride sat in one, and Envy made sure to leave a space between them as xe sat down a foot or so away. The guard who’d held Pride’s arm sat at a desk across from them; the other two disappeared behind a second door into the back of the security office, most likely to fetch some paperwork. The room was small, and closed-off, and the guard was watching them both like a hawk; any defiance Pride was feeling melted slowly into dread as fae realized that getting out of this situation was going to be a lot harder than getting into it was.

“Let’s look on the bright side,” Lust’s anxious voice crackled to life in Pride’s earpiece. Fae hadn’t even noticed that the team had been silent for the last ten or so minutes, “They found the main security office.”

**xxx**

It did not take very long for Pride to decide fae needed to escape the security office. Not because the alternative might mean compromising their team’s entire mission, or facing legal consequences and being officially recognized as a criminal - no, Pride needed to leave because this place was _fucking boring._ Fae was being forced to sit in silence, listening to the rest of faer friends argue about faer over the earpiece as if fae wasn’t there and couldn’t hear them, Envy stewing anxiously next to faer and silent. The guard had given up on watching them some time ago, turning his disinterested eyes over to his desktop monitor, which just _wasn’t fair,_ how dare he manhandle Pride and then not even _acknowledge_ faer as a real threat. It made faer blood boil. It made faer skin _itch,_ made the empty pit in faer stomach feel bigger than ever.

Every glance Pride shot in Envy’s direction was ignored - xe seemed preoccupied with xer own thoughts, face pale - and fae had no way of communicating with xer without alerting the guard to any potential escape plans. That only made faer angrier, made the idea of being reckless more appealing, but fae knew fae had pissed faer teammates off enough for one night. Their bitter voices came through staticky in faer ears, huffing and sighing and cursing Pride out because _seriously, you fucked up big time, more than ever before_. So regardless of whether or not fae felt the scorn was deserved (it wasn’t), fae knew fae had to play faer cards right to keep things from getting worse.

With a deep breath, Pride steeled faerself -

And broke down sobbing.

Fae made sure to be loud, and gross, and over-the-top, rubbing at faer face and clutching at faer hair as the tears ran hot and sweaty over faer cheeks. The guard glanced up, made a face - clearly uncomfortable with the display - but didn’t move from his spot. _Oh, this guy’s insufferable,_ Pride thought to faerself as fae doubled down, hunching over until faer stomach pressed flush against faer thighs, arms wrapped tightly around faerself. Fae quieted the sobbing down, deciding maybe that seemed too forced, too _obvious,_ instead muttering sad little curses to faerself under faer breath as fae cried and wheezed.

It took another forty seconds of weeping before the guard stood, face scrunched up in either disgust or concern. “Sir?” he said, clearly unsure; when Pride didn’t make any move to respond, he walked around his desk to stand in front of faer. “Sir, are you alright?”

Pride just kept crying, moving faer hands to cover faer face, but through the cracks in faer fingers fae saw the guard crouch a little to get closer, eyebrows knitted together. _He’s paying attention to me, finally,_ fae thought in unabashed satisfaction. The hole in faer chest shrank, just a bit. And then, as an afterthought, _The ball’s in your court now, Envy._

Whatever stupor faer teammate had been stuck in seemed to wear off at last - only about ten seconds passed with the guard hovering nervously above Pride before there was a loud and sick-sounding _thump_ . He dropped immediately, almost falling _onto_ Pride; behind him stood Envy, a large paperweight from the desk clenched in one hand, face grim.

Pride’s tears stopped as quickly as they started; fae wiped a hand over faer mouth and grimaced as it came away wet with snot and lipstick.

“Do you think I killed him?” Envy said. Xer expression was unreadable, but clearly uneasy, knuckles white and tense around xer makeshift weapon.

“God, who cares,” Pride said, “My makeup’s fucking ruined now.”

“Oh shit,” gasped Lust, sounding an odd mix of impressed and horrified; in the background, Pride could hear shouting and rustling as the rest of the team presumably scrambled for a new extraction plan, “You guys need to get out of there like, ten seconds ago, those other guards _definitely_ heard that commotion.”

Pride stood so quickly fae nearly tripped over the unconscious body at faer feet. “You don’t need to tell me twice,” fae muttered, speaking more to faerself than to faer teammates. Keeping one eye on the door to the back office, where fae could already hear approaching voices, fae grabbed Envy’s wrist - the one holding the paperweight, which xe dropped as if burned upon Pride touching xer - and ran.

“Apparently, I do,” Wrath said, and while his voice was low, it was clear he _wanted_ to be heard, “Apparently, you don’t know how to listen.”

“Can I get lectured later?” Pride said, unable to keep the sneer out of faer voice, at the same time Envy said, “The restaurant should be empty because of the event,” and the same time one of the security officers said, “God fucking damn it!”

With Pride distracted by faer indignation, Envy had to take the lead - and this was xer mission technically, xe knew the museum’s layout better than anyone - and drag Pride through the hallway and into the deserted diner. They didn’t really have time to look around, but Envy still stuttered to a halt, Pride crashing into xer back. Fae wanted to scold xer, but couldn’t get the words out through the knot in faer throat.

“Which way is the kitchen?” Envy all but yelled, panic clear as day in xer voice.

“To your left,” came Lust’s voice, “Through those metal, uh, the metal--”

“We see ‘em,” Pride said when fae saw what Lust was referring to: a shimmering, aluminum door far in the back, clearly designed to swing open either way for easy access - which also meant it likely wasn’t locked.

This time, they ran side by side, neither dragging the other along. The guards were yelling behind them, footsteps gaining, and then they were bursting through the kitchen doors into a stunningly narrow space, the walls and shelves cluttered with pots and pans and stacked tall with chipped, white plates.

“Where does that window lead to?” Envy asked before Pride even spotted it. Xe pulled faer along, past a stove and an air fryer and the dishwashing machine, but it wasn’t until they reached the more open part of the kitchen, where the desserts were prepared beside a large, industrial freezer that Pride noticed what Envy had been aiming for.

It wasn’t a very large window, clearly just meant for ventilation for when the kitchen got too hot, but it was definitely big enough to climb through. Envy had already begun pushing a bussing cart over, and Pride knew xe was strong enough to do that on xer own, so instead fae whipped around and knocked an entire rack of plates over - in the crowded space of the kitchen, it was sure to slow the guards down, at least a little bit.

“That - goes to the employee parking lot,” came Lust’s belated answer, “Greed, can you--?”

“It’ll take me a bit, but I’m en route.”

There was a shattering sound as Envy swung a frying pan through the pane of glass, and then xe was clambering up on the cart - which rolled wildly about under xer weight, so much so xe had to grab the window sill with both hands despite the sharp shards of broken glass. “Fuck!” xe cried out, and Pride winced because _shit_ that had to hurt, “Can I get a lil help here?”

Pride grabbed the cart’s side to steady it, because as pissed as fae was at Envy, they were still _friends_ and, well, fae needed to escape, too, which would only happen once Envy was also safely out of the building. Xe hefted xerself up the side of the wall, pulled xer knees up onto the pane - cursing the entire time, no doubt cutting xerself more on the shattered glass as xe went - and tumbled out of sight.

When Pride pulled faerself up onto the shaky cart, fae didn’t have anyone to hold faer steady, didn’t have anyone to knock plates over to distract the guards - who were yelling, and kicking their way through the rubble Pride had left behind faer, and definitely too close for comfort - so fae knew fae had to hurry. The glass cut into faer hands the same way it had into Envy’s, and _shit_ that _did_ hurt, even more than fae had anticipated, but faer long legs meant fae didn’t have to scramble on the wall like Envy had, nor place faer knees on the sill and risk injuring faer legs like Envy did. Faer shoulders were broader, however, and fae let out a yelp as faer back scraped the top of the sill, felt the skin there break open and warm blood start to pool between faer shoulder blades.

And then, before fae could even feel properly pissed off about _that,_ Pride felt faerself falling several feet to the ground.

It wasn’t a bad fall - the window couldn’t be more than seven feet off the ground - but it was sudden, and faer whole _body_ hurt now, and the asphalt rose up to greet faer with no forgiveness. And, almost before fae could register fae had hit the ground, winded and sore, hands were grabbing faer arms. _Envy_ , faer adrenaline-addled mind supplied, Envy was helping faer stand up - and then they were both running through the employee parking lot until they reached its edges, surrounded by an orchard of meticulously maintained apricot trees. They ducked in between the trunks, only settling down when the lights of the museum were a halo in the distance, highlighting the canopy above them and wiping the stars out of the sky.

“Well, fuck me,” Pride heard Sloth say through the earpiece, “The dumbasses actually got out on their own.”

“Stay wherever you are,” said Greed, voice tight and urgent.

Before either Envy or Pride could agree to that, however, Wrath began to speak - absolutely furious, bordering on screaming, “So do either one of you want to tell me what the _fuck_ just happened back there? Either of you have an explanation?”  When all she received was silence, she continued, this time directing her ire at Pride specifically. “I gave you - _direct orders_ , and you _ignored_ me, because, what, your _ego_ was a little bruised? Over? A lie Envy told? What the fuck is wrong with y--”

Whatever Wrath said next, Pride didn’t hear it; fae pulled the faux-earring from faer ear and threw it to the ground beneath faer, where it was instantly lost in the undergrowth and bed of fallen leaves and rotting fruit. Faer chest was heaving, and through the newfound silence fae could hear yelling from the museum and speeding cars from a nearby underpass. The cut on faer back was a deep ache, radiating out through faer spine and highlighting all the bruises fae knew were already forming on faer body from the fall.

Through the darkness Envy was nothing but a watery shadow; xer expression was concealed from Pride, even as fae watched xer lift an arm and pluck the radio from xer ear, though xe chose to pocket the device as opposed to throw it to the ground like Pride had. For the first time all night, they were truly alone.

“Are you alright?” Envy asked in a wavering voice, sounding as if xe wasn’t fully sure Pride was there in front of xer, “That fall looked fuckin’ _rough_.”

“I’m fine,” fae snapped before fae could really think about it. Fae was still mad, and still in pain, and Envy being a good friend right now was doing the _opposite_ of helping faer mood, “My shoulder hurts like Hell, but - I’m fine. You?”

“Fine,” was all Envy said in reply, and the absolute lack of vitriol in xer voice made Pride furious, so much so fae had to bite the inside of faer cheek to keep from yelling and giving them both away.

When the immediate wave of violent anger passed, fae spoke, quiet yet bitterly, “So are you going to, like, apologize for that shitshow back there, or…?”

“Excuse me?” while Pride couldn’t see xer expression, fae could picture it, scrunched up in indignation, cheeks made pale by exhaustion and fear combined, “Are-are you kidding me right now? _You_ interrupted _me,_ in the _middle_ of me doing - what I was told to do! You ruined everything just so you could come fuck with me!”

“I wasn’t trying to fuck with you!” Envy made a noise of frustration, like xe thought Pride was lying, but fae _wasn’t_ , for once fae was telling the truth, “I was just trying to be the distraction instead, and I dunno why you couldn’t just let me do that, instead of _humiliating_ me on purpose.”

“Because you _don't_ do that! I do!” xe broke into a yell for one sharp second, followed instantly by silence from them both, breath held. When there was no indication they'd been caught, Envy continued, voice low and furious, “This is my job, why I'm _apart_ of the crew, not yours. I attract attention, you don't.”

Envy had done many upsetting things to Pride over the time they'd known each other - ransacking faer room, stealing faer makeup, lying to and about faer - but none of those things had _hurt._ Not like these words did. The emptiness in Pride’s gut deepened into a chasm, an aching sense of rage and shame and _fear_ so vivid tears - real tears - came to faer eyes. “I’m better than you at this, though,” fae said, trying to be confident but sounding watery and scared instead, “This might be your job, but I'm better than you-”

“You don't think I _know_ that?” Pride was shocked to hear the words leave Envy’s mouth, and even more shocked by how xer voice quivered just as much as faer own had. Despite wanting to say something - anything - in response, fae couldn't find the words - at least not before a twin pair of car headlights sliced through the trees.

Now highlighted by a pale yellow glow, Pride could see Envy take the earpiece from xer pocket and place it back in xer ear, as well as the mascara-blackened tear tracks on both of xer cheeks. “Is that you parked by the gallery orchard, Greed, or do we need to start running again,” xe sounded drained as xe spoke. There was a beat of silence - then, “Okay, thank fuck. We're on our way up to you.”

And that was that; Envy immediately began to trudge up the hill through the tree roots, not even looking back to see if Pride was following. Their mission, as well as their argument, was cut short.

**xxx**

The next few days around the hideout were… awkward, to say the least. Envy and Pride both received a lecture from Wrath upon returning - first together, then separately. Pride doesn’t know what Envy was told, but faer scolding involved a lot of cursing and expressions of disappointment. _I don't know how we can trust you in the field again,_ Wrath had said, arms crossed and gaze icy; Pride tried to be unfazed, _if you don't know how to follow basic instructions._ The heist was postponed by a month - which, in turn, halted three other projects that had been in the works as the budget shrunk by over ten thousand dollars. Everyone on the team was quick to make it clear they felt it was Pride's fault.

Except Lust.

He was almost apologetic, as if he thought he might alleviate some of Pride’s guilt by taking it onto himself. Which was a sweet endeavor, if pointless, because Pride didn’t feel sorry _at all._  Fae latched onto the kindness though, feigned sadness over faer failure to get Lust to comfort faer, and it helped with the anger and the loneliness at least a little bit.

It was ten days after the mission went wrong, and everyone but Lust was still giving Pride the cold shoulder. They were playing pool together at the local pizzeria, as the team often did; without Gluttony there to take faer shots for faer, Pride was losing _badly_ , but Lust was merciful and didn’t comment on it. Instead they were talking, somewhat awkwardly, as if maneuvering around landmines in the conversation, about the ruined heist.

One of Pride’s shots missed wildly as Lust spoke. “I don’t think it’s fair how you’ve been treated lately,” his words were sincere in a way Pride wasn’t fully used to, but it was refreshing more than it was frustrating. In faer earliest memories, fae recalled faer mother saying every person was a puzzle to figure out - Pride had long since deduced that this was bullshit, that most people were the same, a riddle with the same answer yet slightly different wording, but Lust appeared unique. Lust used words Pride had never heard before. “You - I mean, you did make a mistake, but. We all have?”

“Lust, you’re the only one of us with any sense,” fae pouted, hopping up onto the ledge of the pool table to swing faer long, legging-clad legs back and forth playfully. Fae hoped the compliment and the doe-eyed look on faer face might distract Lust, and it did, because what should have been a perfect shot sent the three-ball careening wildly in the opposite direction of the pocket. “Everyone else on the team blames me for what I did wrong but _refuse_ to give me any credit for what I did right!”

Pride wasn’t entirely sure fae _did_ do anything right, but that was okay, Lust always had been smarter than faer. “Your quick-thinking is what got you and Envy out of there, honestly.”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Pride exclaimed in something between relief and exasperation. Faer feet hit the pizzeria’s floor - ugly neon carpeting, Pride hated it and loved it in equal parts - with a soft thump. Fae spun quickly, wildly, around to line up a haphazard shot, one eye shut tightly like fae always saw in movies.

From the other side of the table, Lust huffed out a laugh. “I understand why they’re upset, but you deserve to know that you did a good job getting out of there in such shitty circumstances,” he said, voice turning gentle. The sincerity was quickly becoming uncomfortable and untrustworthy instead of intriguing; Pride bit faer tongue to keep from being cruel. “I’m sure things’ll go back to normal soon--,”

“ _Fuck!_ ” Pride snapped as the striped ball bounced off the corner of the hole, the cue ball going straight in instead.  Without even taking a breath or considering Lust’s words, fae continued to rant, “They just need to get over it! All of ‘em!”

“They will,” Lust tried to soothe, fishing the cue ball out of the pocket. “Eventually, they will. This’ll blow over.”

“It should have blowed over already!” Lust raised an eyebrow at Pride, pausing in the middle of chalking his cue stick. The scrutiny made Pride bristle, “ _Blown,_ whatever, you get what I mean!”

“I do! I get you!” Lust said hurriedly as he placed the cue stick back onto the table and raised both hands as if to pacify faer. The look on his face screamed pity, but Pride was so attention-starved fae was willing to shrug off the condescension, “I get you… there is, uh,” and he coughed, an obviously fake cough, a blush rising to his cheeks, before continuing hesitantly, “There’s one thing I _don’t_ get, though.”

Pride wasn’t sure where this conversation was headed, but fae was sure fae wouldn’t like it, that this was only going to poison faer mood further. Lust clearly knew this too - he was broaching it with caution, hands fiddling nervously on the pool table in front of him. Pride could walk away or change the subject - Lust wouldn’t be mad - and save faerself the heartache, let the metaphorical bruise heal instead of prodding at it.

Instead of doing any of that, though, fae smiled sweetly and said, “Well, ask away.”

“I just wanna know,” another beat of hesitation, as he chose his words carefully, “... _Why_ you interrupted Envy’s mission. Because over the ear piece, I heard you - heard you say it wasn’t about your rivalry with them.”

“I _don’t_ have a rivalry with them!”

Lust nodded in deferment, expression painfully sincere. “Right, I’m sorry.” His genuine attempt at comforting Pride only made faer skin crawl more. It was humiliating to have someone be so calm and so kind when, in that moment, all fae wanted was to scream and hit and fight with someone. Lust must be looking down on faer, somehow, in _some_ way, but Pride couldn’t figure it out. Fae didn’t know how to solve this puzzle.

“If it wasn’t about, uh, fucking with Envy, though,” he said as he lined up a shot, “What… was it about?”

“I don’t know!” As the words came out of faer mouth, fae was shocked to find they _felt_ honest. Fae stuttered to a halt. “It just… made me so, annoyed, I guess. To see Envy _doing…_ that.”

“Doing what?” Lust asked with a tilt of his head; with a sharp flick of his wrist, a solid ball went rolling straight into the pocket.

Pride twisted faer own cue stick in faer hands anxiously before answering, trying to gather faer thoughts - a habit fae wasn’t used to. “Gettin’ attention. I hate it. That’s like, _my_ thing, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Lust spoke over Pride at the end of faer sentence, somewhat desperate to reassure faer, “But… you know Envy likes attention, too. You can - or, don’t you think you can both do that? You’re similar!”

Fae had been right, fae should have changed the subject when fae had the chance, because this was the absolute _last_ thing Pride wanted to hear. Fae wasn’t interested in pretending otherwise anymore. Lust must have seen the way faer expression shuttered closed, because he immediately floundered. “Wait, what’s - I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

“I’m done playing,” Pride bit out, dropping the pool stick onto the ground, “All I had was a lemonade, so you can foot the bill.”

Pride could hear Lust calling after faer as fae walked right out the door - more apologies, more questions - but fae ignored it, for once unwilling to make a scene in public. If this made Lust angry at faer, made him start giving faer the silent treatment too, that was just as well. Pride decided nobody on the team was really worth faer time.

**xxx**

Five days later, Wrath gave up on giving Pride the silent treatment.

“Hey,” he said with a knock on Pride’s door - it was swung wide open, as it always was, fae was never very keen on privacy, “Are you busy?”

“Never too busy for you, boss lady!” fae said as faer shoulders tensed. Fae was seated at faer vanity, lip gloss held limply in one hand, “...’Cept right now I’m making my face up, so, yes. Can this wait?”

“I won’t take up too much of your time, then,” he said, wearing a lopsided smile that looked more like a grimace the longer Pride looked him over, “I just… You need to talk to Envy eventually, you know that, right?”

“...I know.”

“Then when are you going to do it?”

“Never.”

The look Wrath gave faer was reminiscent of a disappointed teacher, head tilted so she could glare up at Pride through her lashes. “I need to be able to bring you two on missions together, so you need to sort it out.”

“You’re overreacting,” even to faer own ears, the words felt hypocritical, yet Pride pressed on, “We’re getting along fine!”

“No, you aren’t!” Wrath snapped. She seemed less playfully exasperated and more genuinely pissed off now, but her eyes were more worried than anything else, “You can’t even handle being in the same room together anymore! Eventually - eventually we’re gonna have to get back to work, and when that happens, I need you two on your A-game or else…”

Pride snorted out a laugh. “Or else _what_ , you’ll fire us?”

“Yes!” was Wrath’s immediate, defiant response. It was a bluff, and a fairly obvious one - Wrath had a mission and the Seven Deadly Sins Crew wasn’t just his key, but his life’s work and his family. Pride didn’t need to speak to get faer disbelief across; fae merely smirked and stared for a few silent, angry seconds until Wrath deflated, “Or - no, I wouldn’t, but - damn it, you two are really making me wish I could!”

“Exactly! So,” Pride shrugged and turned back to faer mirror, though through the reflection fae could keep an eye on Wrath, still standing in the doorway, “Who gives a shit?”

“I do!” Wrath said; he must have realized quickly how unmoved Pride was by this sentiment, because he made sure to add, “You _should._ ”

“Ridiculous,” Pride said dismissively, “All I shoulds be doing is finishing my makeup, so if you don’t have anything else to ask of me -,”

“Do you even feel slightly bad for what you did to Envy?”

White hot anger hit Pride before fae could even really process the question - fae threw the compact of blush fae had been holding down and listened to it clatter against the vanity as fae took a deep, steadying breath. Fae glared over faer shoulder at Wrath, whose expression was frustratingly unreadable. Pride’s first instinct was to yell at her until she left faer the fuck alone, but fae had a suspicion that would only make things worse for faerself. Instead, fae took another breath, and asked, “I thought you were still all pissed off with me. Why are you even here?”

“Nice deflection,” deadpanned Wrath. For a moment, they glared at one another, both refusing to flinch; Wrath sighed through her nose when she next spoke, “If I answer that question, will you answer mine?”

“Yes,” Pride said, without thinking about it and certainly without meaning it.

The look on Wrath’s face made it clear he knew this, yet he answered anyway. “Lust told me to. He’s worried about you,” he continued without pausing, though the shock on Pride’s face must have been obvious to him, “You two got into an argument a few days ago, right?”

“It wasn’t an argument,” retorted Pride - another deflection, fae could admit, “He crossed a line and I. I put him in his place.”

Wrath muttered something Pride couldn’t hear then, face scrunched up in a familiar expression - it was the look people got whenever Pride had said something they found bizarre and inappropriate. Pride hated when people looked at faer like this; fae could recognize it, but fae couldn’t understand it - nothing fae’d just said warranted such a look of disgust. Wrath didn’t voice whatever was bothering her, however, just shook her head tersely and said, “Whatever. _He’s_ why I’m speaking with you right now. You’re our teammate, so no matter how much you piss us off, it’s still important to us that you’re doing well. Now,” she took a single step into Pride’s bedroom, arms folded over each other in an attempt to look imposing - and it worked, somewhat, even though she was only an inch or two taller than Pride even when fae was sitting down, “Will you answer my question?”

With complete sincerity, Pride replied, “I don’t remember it.”

“Of course you don’t,” grumbled Wrath under his breath; Pride politely pretended fae didn’t hear, “Do you feel bad about upsetting Envy as much as you did?”

For a moment, Pride considered the question very seriously. Of course fae felt _bad_ , fae had felt miserable ever since the mission went so incredibly wrong, but there was a voice in the back of faer head telling faer that that wasn’t _quite_ what Wrath was asking.

“Do I feel guilty, you mean?”

“Yeah,” Wrath said, “Do you feel guilty."

The honest answer would have been _I have no idea_ , but Pride knew better than to answer faer boss so vaguely. And when fae began to consider it, fae thought _not at all, I have nothing to feel guilty about,_ but that probably wasn’t what Wrath wanted to hear, either. So fae let faerself think for a minute, as Wrath waited patiently at the front of the room.

 _Did_ fae feel guilty about what happened? Fae certainly felt _bad_ , rotten and weighed down by embarrassment, vilified by faer teammates as fae drifted through the warehouse, completely ignored. There was a lot of anger, too, at faer teammates, for giving faer the cold shoulder; and at the strangers at the gallery, for witnessing the whole disaster; and finally, at faerself, for making such a fool of faerself. Pride certainly _regretted_ what had happened - was that the same thing?

“If… if I could go back in time,” fae said hesitantly, “I would change what I did.”

“So you do feel guilty,” said Wrath, and it wasn’t a question anymore, so Pride just nodded along, making a note to faerself - this feeling of anger and shame was guilt. Guilt didn’t mean fae had to be sorry. _What a relief,_ fae thought, right as Wrath said, “Okay. Good. Just - please try to fix things soon, alright?”

“Of course,” Pride said, and fae might have even meant it for a second - but then Wrath was leaving, and closing the door, and by the time Pride had finished faer full face of makeup, fae had forgotten all about the feeling of guilt in faer gut.

**xxx**

By the time the Seven Deadly Sins were planning for another heist - their first major one since Pride and Envy’s major blunder - Pride still hadn’t spoken more than four words to Envy. Which was just as well, because they were assigned as far away from each other as possible when the day of the job actually came.

It was a fairly convoluted scheme, even Pride had to admit. A unusual one for them, as well. A very wealthy man - one who, for all intents and purposes, existed outside of the world of organized crime, as much as any very wealthy man could - had hired them to break into his _own_ panic room to steal a collection of priceless family heirlooms. The heist would occur during his daughter’s wedding reception, while the live music was being performed but right before he gave his toast, so the most witnesses possible would be around to see him and his seemingly perfect alibi. Their payment would simply be the stolen jewelry and artifacts, so as to avoid any type of paper trail between them. The whole deal felt bizarre, so unlike any job they’d taken on before, and the team was understandably nervous.

“What’s to stop this guy from fucking us over?” Gluttony had asked during their final meeting before the wedding. He was sat on the opposite side of the table from Pride, but not across from faer - an obvious and deliberate effort to keep them separated. It stung, just a little bit, so Pride made sure to scowl ferociously in his direction the entire time. “Like, the jewels we nab could just be fake. Or he could just tell the police we did it and get us arrested.”

“Testing to see if gold or gemstones are real isn’t too tricky,” Greed piped up with a confident grin, “A little chemistry, a nice jeweler’s kit - I’ve got a bit of training in it, too. Before we even leave the property, I’ll be able to tell if we’ve been conned, in which case we can get revenge pretty instantly.”

Lust was next to speak, “As for your second concern,” he said, leaning his elbows onto the table they sat around to get closer to Gluttony; Pride didn’t miss the way Gluttony’s jaw clenched at the sign of affection, “I’ve done some digging on this dude - shady as _shit,_ let me just say. If he decides to come after us for breaking the law, we can do the same. With ease. And way more proof.”

“So. Basically. Our Plan B is murder and blackmail.” Gluttony said flatly, looking to Wrath for confirmation. There was a beat of silence as she nodded brightly at him, and then he nodded back, “Perfect.”

“I dunno, guys,” Sloth cut through the excited murmurs of the team with their usual deadpan, “Doesn’t this all seem kind of… stupid, and cartoonish? Like, no way this guy doesn’t get caught for insurance fraud.”

“So?” Wrath sneered, “I don’t give a shit if _he_ gets arrested, I only care about getting us - and that jewelry - in and out of there safely.” Nobody could reasonably disagree with this sentiment, and another murmur spread across the table. A smile, toothy and self-assured, spread across Wrath’s face as he stood, “Now, if there aren’t any more questions, I think we should all get some rest. Big day tomorrow!”

The very next evening, Pride found faerself in the front side of Greed’s car, backpack full of explosives, ballistic blankets, and a single rope. Gluttony was laying down on his side, sprawled out across all three back-seats, facing away from both Greed and Pride. The sun was low in the sky - not quite dipping below the horizon, but hovering close to it, casting everything in rich, red light - and Pride could have counted the stars already glittering to life.

Fae wasn’t doing that, though, instead focusing faer energy on examining faer reflection in the side-view mirror through the window. “It’s been too long since we got to be on an assignment together, jewel,” Pride said to Greed, tilting faer head lazily onto one shoulder to smirk at her slyly, “How have you been! I’ve missed you.”

The last time the two of them had been together, Greed had been providing an emergency exit to Pride and Envy at the gala; she’d sat cursing in the driver’s seat as Pride’s shoulder bled out into faer seat. Pride chose not to mention this fact, though, just continued to smile like fae knew the funniest inside joke in the world as Greed fumbled for a reply, “Good - I been, good, y’know. Really hope we pull this job off well. For Wrath’s sake.”

“Aw, how romantic!” Pride cooed just to watch Greed’s flush deepen, “Honestly, before you said that, I didn’t give a shit how tonight turned out.”

“What?” huffed Greed, in a sound similar to laugh but lacking any real humor, “Why?”

“‘Cause some zillionaire is paying us to blow up his _own_ house, how fun is that?” Fae said, hands flying in wild, enthusiastic gestures; Greed continued to look bemused, “I would fake my own death to get a new job as someone who just blows up people’s mansions in exchange for nice jewelry.”

“H. H. Holmes, America’s first serial killer, was famous for his mansion,” said Gluttony, voice deadpan and slightly muffled; a glance over faer shoulder revealed that he had not rolled over to speak to Pride and Greed, content to speak almost directly into the bloodstained polyester he was laying on, “It’s been called his Murder Castle before. While only nine victims can be confirmed, some rumors have said he killed over two hundred people in that home.”

“Wow!” Greed said - there was a hint of laughter in her voice, though mostly she seemed nervous, like she wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not, “That’s terrifying. Thanks. For that.”

Despite it all - the cold shoulders, the bitterness, the awkward days at the warehouse - Pride found that fae sincerely had missed faer team. Fae had missed laughing loudly in the passenger seat of Greed’s car, Gluttony sprawled in the back, faer own feet kicked up onto the dashboard as they raced through the twilight to their destination. Fae had been lying when fae said fae didn’t care how the mission went - more than anything, Pride wanted this to end happily. This heist was the key to things going back to how they were.

They pulled into their target-slash-client’s estate, following the poorly paved roads intended for the groundskeeper’s vehicles to the back of the massive house. Greed drove the car slowly up onto the grass, parking in the lawn right beside the very back of the building, below the third story window they knew the panic room was closest to.

Simultaneously, Pride and Greed put their bluetooths in to make contact with the rest of the team. As Pride slid out of the passenger door to breathe in the warm, hazy night air, fae heard Greed saying to - someone on the team, probably not faer, “I’m starting to think our plan for infiltration is _very_ stupid. Is there really no other way to get them in through the window?”

“It’ll be fine,” came Wrath’s reply, tinny in Pride’s ear through the earpiece, “Trust me, those two have done way stupider things than climb on top of a parked car.”

“I’ve already snuck around and jimmied that window open,” Lust said, before Greed could reply, “So just find your way up there, and you’re in.”

Their plan for ‘finding their way up there’ was simple and, as Greed _continued_ to point out, a bit unsafe. Gluttony hoisted himself up onto the roof of the car, followed quickly by Pride, who made a big show of spiralling faer arms out for balance as fae stumbled on the surface of the hood.

“So, once you’ve boosted me up there,” fae said as fae crowded into Gluttony’s personal space; fae could see him trying _not_ to react, “How am I getting you up with me again?”

“The rope in your bag,” was his deadpan reply; at the quizzical look on Pride’s face, Gluttony heaved a great sigh and elaborated, “I’m going to climb up the rope.”

“Oh! Sexy,” Pride beamed, with a flirty incline of faer head - and for a second, fae thought fae might have gone _too_ far, as Gluttony’s face darkened and he moved to shove faer off the roof of the car, when Greed interrupted the beginnings of the fight to tell them both to be careful.

It was fortunate Pride was so damn tall, or else fae wouldn’t have been able to reach the window even with one foot held squarely in Gluttony’s broad hands - he boosted faer up with a soft grunt, and fae focused all faer energy on _not_ tumbling out of his grip and onto the ground. With both hands, fae grabbed the sill above faer and hoisted faerself up using whatever upper-body strength fae possessed. It was a tight squeeze through the gap Lust had left faer - he had probably intended for Pride to try opening it a little more before climbing in, now that fae thought about it - but fae managed to tumble to the hardwood floor of the mansion hallway without too much noise.

“I’m in,” fae said into faer earpiece as fae stood and brushed faerself off, merely because it felt like the right thing to do in this situation - the floor, and subsequently Pride’s outfit, were perfectly clean, “I’m gonna get Gluttony up here now, and then I’ll start setting the bomb up.”

As Pride lowered the rope out through the open window, fae made note of the rumbling sounds of techno music happening somewhere below faer. The reception was occurring on the first floor of the five-story mansion, and Pride knew that Lust and Envy were attending it, remaining on the outer corners of the dancefloor to make sure nobody snuck off and stumbled upon Pride and Gluttony. It was delightful, in a sadistic, petty kind of way, to think about Envy being forced out of the spotlight - by necessity, xe had to attract as little attention as possible at this event. The idea that Envy might be as miserable as Pride had been the past few weeks was the closest thing to divine punishment Pride had ever witnessed.

This train of thought was cut off by Gluttony landing in the hallway next to Pride, on his feet instead of sprawled on the floorboards like fae had been. “We’re both here now,” Gluttony said as Pride opened faer mouth to make a comment that, no doubt, would have pissed him off - in fact, Pride imagined Gluttony _knew_ that, and thus was deliberately cutting faer off before fae could begin, “And - I can see the panic room. How long do we have before his toast?”

“Forty minutes,” Lust replied.

Gluttony nodded, even though nobody but Pride could see it, “Got it.”

And so they got to work.

Or, more accurately, _Pride_ got to work, pulling the already-halfway-constructed explosive out of faer Barbie pink backpack, and Gluttony stood behind faer, keeping a watchful eye on the hallway in case of anything unexpected. What fae was using was essentially modified C4, which fae was going to remote detonate - once they were ducked inside of a closet, and once they had covered the bomb partially with a kevlar blanket to muffle the sound - five minutes before their client’s speech, while the music was blasting.

“You know,” Gluttony’s voice over faer shoulder was so sudden and unexpected, fae flinched, hands flying away from the bomb instinctively; the glare Pride shot him was completely ignored, “Even with the music and the blankets, the people downstairs are _absolutely_ going to hear this go off.”

Pride was still reeling from the sudden interruption to faer work, memorized lists of chemical reactions and crossed wires scrolling through faer mind in place of an answer that might satisfy Gluttony’s question. Fortunately, Wrath had overheard through the earpiece, and answered for faer: “That’s fine. We don’t need to go unnoticed, just unseen. Hopefully the chaos of the party will help buy us time on the getaway.”

That seemed like a good enough response for Gluttony - with a shrug of his shoulders, he turned his back to Pride again to continue keeping watch.

This - the demolitions, and engineering, and pure explosive chemistry - was one of Pride’s favorite things in the world. It was the one thing fae had had to work hard at, the one skill fae possessed that hadn’t come naturally to faer, instead cultivated after years of careful studying and rote memorization. It was how Pride had gotten through faer teenage years, and how fae had made a life for faerself in Clearwater now. It was the entire reason fae had been invited into the Seven Deadly Sins, all those months ago, and - while Pride felt confident about faerself for lots of reasons - this was what really made faer feel… well, _proud_.

Only once the C4 was properly set did Pride let faerself speak, sparing a glance at the sparkling child’s watch fae wore around faer left wrist. “Nearly done over here!” fae said into faer bluetooth with a wide smile, “Just gotta lay the blankets down, and then we’ll be waiting on your sig--,”

The rest of Pride’s words were muffled by Gluttony’s hand slamming over faer still moving mouth. It was equal parts shocking and amusing to faer - if speech wasn’t impossible at that moment, fae would have made sure to flirt back - up until fae twisted around to look Gluttony in his face. His eyes were slightly widened, mouth set in a tense, grim line, and when he and Pride made eye contact, he gave a short shake of his head as a warning. He seemed afraid for the first time in the entire time Pride had known him, and it made faer blood run cold.

Fae was just about ask what was going on once Gluttony had lifted his hand when fae heard it - voices. A pair of voices drifting through the hallway, giggling and chattering and getting dangerously close to the panic room they were both still crouched outside of. Gluttony jerked his head in the direction of the nearby storage closet that they had intended on ducking into during the blast, and Pride had barely gotten to nod in response before fae was being dragged along into hiding.

Once they were both inside of the utility closet, surrounded by cleaning supplies and boxes upon boxes of light bulbs, Gluttony growled into his earpiece, “Hey, Lust, Envy, care to explain to me why we just almost got discovered?”

“You almost _what?_ ” Wrath yelled, so loudly his words were near impossible to decipher through the resulting static.

“Uh, fuck, _fuck,_ ” Lust said, sounding on the verge of a panic attack, “I don’t know what’s happening! I don’t have a visual on Envy right now, xe’s supposed to be doing crowd control with me--,”

“So where the fuck _is_ xe?” Gluttony snapped, and, as if on cue, the two voices drifted through the hallway, one belonging to a stranger and the other being _painfully_ familiar.

Without another word to Gluttony, Pride threw faer backpack onto the ground in front of faer and began rummaging through it, fuming as fae did, “Oh, I know where Envy is, and I know that I’m gonna _kill_ xer.” At last, fae found the detonator; it nearly slipped out of faer hands, fae was so frantic, and it was only then that Gluttony seemed to realize what was happening.

“Whoa, what the _fuck,_ ” he said, raising both hands in a gesture halfway between comforting Pride and reaching out to grab faer, “You _can’t_ do that, Pride.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“Nevermind killing Envy,” he said, in a tone of voice that made it clear he was just as pissed as Pride, would be just as willing to get revenge; it was a somewhat soothing realization, “Without the blankets, that blast could kill _us._ ”

Which, okay, was a fair point, but it hardly mattered to Pride in the moment - all fae could think about was Envy, and that _stranger,_ laughing and kissing only ten feet away from the one thing fae had to be proud of.

“We’re on a time limit here,” Gluttony said, turning away from Pride to make it clear he wasn’t speaking to faer anymore, “So somebody needs to fix this. _Now._ ”

“I’m on it,” Lust said, and he had barely managed to get the last word out before Pride began to rant again.

“Envy, I don’t know if you can hear me,” fae said, trying to keep faer voice low and even despite the white hot rage, “But if you can, you need to listen _good_ . I will never forgive you for this, d’you understand that? This shit is unforgivable, you’ll be lucky if I ever let you have another day of peace after tonight, I’m going to make your life a living _Hell_ , I’m-,”

Wrath saying, “Okay, Gluttony, you need to calm Pride down before he does something stupid,” was all the warning fae got before Gluttony’s right hand was smacked across faer mouth again - his other hand went to faer shoulder to hold faer in place. It wasn’t funny this time, and Pride tugged at Gluttony’s wrist in a futile attempt to wrench faerself free. Despite being two inches shorter than faer, Gluttony was still bigger and stronger than Pride in nearly every way, and didn’t budge an inch, just shook his head in what could have been an apologetic gesture, if he wasn’t glaring murderously at Pride the entire time.

Through the door of the closet they were ducked inside of, Pride could hear Lust’s voice, nervous and laughing as he interrupted _whatever_ Envy had been in the middle of. “Whoa, hey, sorry guys!” he said; the anxiety and embarrassment sounded genuine, and Pride knew that it _must_ have been, the source of it was just a lie, “Just - uh, I saw you sneak off, and the father of the bride is giving his toast in, like, _ten minutes_ , so I thought, y’know, I should make sure y’all don’t miss it!”

The emphasis was clearly Lust’s last ditch attempt to return Envy’s attention to the mission at hand; the stranger xe had been with was making loud, flustered squawking sounds, while xe remained suspiciously silent, which indicated to Pride that xe had expected Lust to find xer, xe must’ve still had the earpiece in. A little thrill of satisfaction shot through Pride at the notion faer threats might have been heard, after all.

“C’mon,” said Lust, “A-after the speech, you two can meet back up, promise!”

The sound of movement - receding footsteps, people leaving - was all Gluttony and Pride heard next. Two minutes passed, crouched in that closet, before they gathered the composure to enter the hallway again, and after that, the rest of the plan went off without a hitch - Lust gave the signal, the C4 went off, Greed proved the gemstones were authentic, and they all made it off of the property without detection.

Fae enjoyed none of it though, too filled with shame and _anger_ that somehow, in some way, Envy had found a way to take demolitions away from Pride, too.

**xxx**

“It’s unbelievable!” Pride exclaimed, bringing one fist down into an open palm for emphasis. It is the second time in under three months that fae has found faerself venting to Gluttony about a fellow teammate, but this time fae has no nail polish to distract or soothe faerself with. They’re seated on the floor in Pride’s private quarters, Pride leaning against faer bed and Gluttony against the opposite wall. “Un- _fucking_ -believable, that xe would pull that shit on me.”

For a moment, Gluttony hesitated, unwilling to pick a side in what he saw as a very stupid argument, before inclining his head in agreement. “Yeah, it was really stupid of xer.” he confessed, “I get that they’re still mad at you. Hell, I’m still mad at you. But that was just as reckless as the shit you pulled.”

Gluttony had stopped giving Pride the cold shoulder as suddenly as he had started; after joining in on reprimanding Envy for xer dangerous stunt last week, he had gone back to speaking to Pride like nothing had happened. No apology, no clarification - he’d simply walked over to Pride after the dust had settled and sat down to watch faer paint faer nails again. It was such a relief, Pride almost forgot to feel angry at Envy.

Almost.

“No kidding it was just as reckless!” Pride snapped on instinct; once fae realized fae had been tricked into admitting wrongdoing, fae bristled and added, hastily, “But I, y’know, I had a _good_ reason for what I did, at the very least. Envy just has a grudge.”

“A good reason?” said Gluttony, both eyebrows raised, “No fuckin’ way _you_ had a good reason. It was your bruised ego.” There was a beat of tense silence, and then Gluttony sagged backwards, head lolling to the side in an attempt at looking as apathetic as he always told Pride he felt, “At least I assume that’s why you did it, right? You never told any of us what the fuck really happened.”

“You’ve all already made up your minds.”

“Don’t - be like that,” Gluttony said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. As if sensing the question about to leave Pride’s lips - _like what?_ \- he continued, words clipped and exasperated, “Don’t act all victimized because people are mad at you. We’re mad at Envy now, too, you should be happy.”

“I _am_ happy,” replied Pride with a glower.

It shouldn’t have been possible for Gluttony to look more fed up, and yet he managed it, letting out a low groan from the back of his throat. Pride’s frown deepened.

“Just,” Gluttony said with a sigh that rivalled Pride’s in melodrama, “Tell me. Why you did it.”

The question made something inside of Pride’s chest squirm, though fae couldn’t figure out why - fae twisted where fae sat as if the physical movement might quell the anxiety, “Why do you want to know? You just said you’re pissed at me still.”

“Because you’re gonna be a little shit until you get - whatever it is off your chest,” was Gluttony’s instant response. There was no mistaking his frustrated tone for concern, though Pride desperately wished fae could. Another, even tenser, beat of silence passed - then, “And… because Lust. Came to me about this.”

“What?”

Gluttony wasn’t meeting Pride’s eyes, instead examining the cuts and bruises on his knuckles the way Pride might inspect faer nails. “Two days ago. Said he was worried - ‘bout you, and about Envy, too. He was the only one still willing to talk to either of you after that gallery heist, right?” It’s a rhetorical question - both of them knew that was objective truth. Being confronted with it only made faer angrier. “He told me he can tell you’ve been real upset about - something. But you aren’t saying _what_. Which is weird, ‘cause you, y’know - never shut the fuck up.”

“So you _want_ me to tell you? That’s out of character,” Pride said, though it was patently untrue. Gluttony was the only person on the team who could ever get Pride to spill faer guts when fae was upset (or acting upset, at least). Him asking faer to talk about faer problems was a routine part of their friendship. Gluttony didn’t point that out, however, just shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him either way. “Fine. I interrupted Envy’s mission because. They were getting more attention. Than me.”

“You were jealous,” it wasn’t a question. “You knew that was Envy’s job going into this, though.”

“It might be Envy’s job,” Pride said, and fae heard faer voice waver, fae _hated_ hearing faer voice waver, as if fae was weak or out of control or a child, “But that - being extroverted, and flashy, and all of that, that’s - my thing. It’s what makes me… me, y’know, makes me different-,”

Pride had barely gotten the last word out before Gluttony started talking, lips drawn back in a grimace, “I’m sorry, are you - did you seriously fuck up our mission because you wanted to feel _special_?”

“You don’t get it!” Pride snapped back, nearly hysterical, “If Envy does the same things, as me, that means we’re - the same, and that’s - terrible, I can’t be, I can’t be like,” _Envy, like everyone else, everyone else is flawed and I need to be perfect, if I’m not perfect what am I, I’m useless -_ the thoughts raced through Pride’s mind so quickly fae had to bite faer tongue to keep from saying them aloud. They were thoughts fae wasn’t going to share with anyone, not even Gluttony, not even if Gluttony asked nicely for once.

“Uh,” the voice startled Pride into realizing that faer vision was blurry and hot with tears; fae blinked them away as discreetly as fae could. Gluttony was staring at faer, eyebrows furrowed in the closest thing to worry Pride had ever seen on his face, “Are you - what was that?”

“I’m fine,” Pride managed to say without a hint of weakness, “I just. Don’t have anything else to say.”

“You… sure you good?”

 _This conversation was a mistake,_ fae said to faerself.

“Talking about it made me feel a lot better,” fae said to Gluttony. “So. Thanks.”

At that, Gluttony made a face that Pride couldn’t read, nose wrinkled in something between confusion, disgust, and pity. “Okay, well, you just seem real fucked up, so you’re probably lyin’ to me,” he said, running one hand through his tangled mess of hair, “But. I don’t really care.”

“Thanks,” Pride echoed, for a lack of anything more to say. Even though he said he didn’t care, Gluttony was still peering at faer with that unreadable, unsettling expression, but Pride couldn’t bring faerself to feel annoyed or confused or glad for the concern - fae mostly just felt empty all over again.

Which is why fae smiled, toothy and big, and said, “D’you wanna go play pool? I promise I’ll let you win!”

**xxx**

“Do you have a problem with me?”

Lust looked up from his computer, eyes blown wide like a deer caught in the headlights. “I’m sorry - no? No, I don’t,” he stammered out, his brow was furrowed in confusion, and Pride was frustrated to find he sounded sincere, “I have absolutely no issue with you. Did I… do something?”

“Don’t lie,” said Pride, and, if possible, the confusion on Lust’s face doubled, “You’ve been talking shit about me to everyone on this team.”

“Wh- no, I have not!” he insisted; Pride could only roll faer eyes, which only made Lust more flustered and thus more defiant, “You need to elaborate, because I _promise_ you, I’ve not been bad-mouthing you to anyone.”

“Gluttony and Wrath both told me,” Pride said the names slow and deliberate to watch Lust’s reaction for a hint of awareness or shame. He mostly just continued to look bewildered, “That you talked to them about me, claimin’ I seem, what, unstable to you? Weak?”

The shock on Lust’s face didn't vanish, quite the opposite, but there was something different about his expression all the same - brow pinched and head tilted, looking at Pride like fae was both very bizarre and very fragile. “I told them I was _worried_ about you,” he said slowly, “Because I can tell you’ve been upset about something lately.”

“So?” spat Pride, hands clenched tight and trembling at faer sides, “That’s not their business. That’s not _your_ business! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m your friend,” Lust shot back, which Pride didn’t consider an answer so much as an excuse, “So I’m showing concern for you.”  When faer expression didn’t shift, fae just continued to glare huffily at him, Lust continued, exasperated, “Like a friend would.”

“Well, knock it off,” fae snapped, “I’m _your_ friend, but you don’t see me going around, telling everyone what a mess you are.” There was a heated, angry beat and then Pride added, “And you are. A mess.”

Fae didn’t mean what fae said, knew that there was no real purpose in spitting out the insult other than to watch Lust’s face crumble, shoulders sagging and eyes flickering down to his lap. Distantly, Pride felt a pang of regret, a voice in the back of faer head muttering _what the hell is wrong with you, why would you say that,_ but fae swallowed it, along with the rest of faer explosive anger. “I appreciate that you think you’re helping,” fae said with a deep and steadying breath. Lust still refused to look faer in the face again, “But you’re not. You’re just pissing me off. I’m already having a hard time making everyone like me again without you airing my dirty laundry behind my back.”

“What would you rather I have done?” Lust said, gaze settled somewhere around Pride’s navel now, face deliberately blank and voice brutally raw, “I know you. I know you want people to care about you. What do you want me to do?”

“Anything but this!” was faer instant reply - fae said it without even thinking it through, but knew as soon as it left faer mouth it was the truth, “Anything but thinking of me like a weak child!”

“I don’t think of you like a weak child!” Lust said, halfway between exasperated and reassuring - he just ended up sounding angry at Pride, and fae couldn’t help but laugh out loud, bitter and disbelieving, “I don’t - I don’t know what you want from me, I really don’t. I don’t know what’ll make you happy.”

“Nothing,” said Pride, near instinctively; the hollow feeling was back, and all-encompassing, and ice-cold in faer veins, “Nothing you can do will ever make me happy.” Despite the venom in faer voice, Lust was still looking at faer with wide, sincere eyes, brow furrowed in concern, so fae decided it was time to double down and drive faer point home, “I had no idea who you were five months ago, but I promise you, once we all finally go our separate ways, it won’t even take me half that long to completely forget you.”

“I get… that you’re upset,” Lust said, and Pride couldn’t tell if his voice was wavering with anger or with tears, honestly, fae didn’t _care_ , “But that’s too far, and you know it--,”

“I don’t think you _do_ get it!” Lust’s mouth snapped shut, jaw ground tight, but Pride continued without pause, “I don’t think you get it at all! You say you’re my friend like that means something--,”

“It does!” Lust cut faer off this time, and Pride _felt_ more than heard the sound of disgust and rage fae made in response to the interruption, “I mean, doesn’t it? Don’t we mean anything to you, anything at all?”

The expression on Lust’s face was sickening to look at, so hurt and open and _sincere_ \- Pride decided, in that moment, that Lust was either the greatest liar or the biggest idiot fae had ever met. “You can pretend all you want that we’re a family, and being a family means we owe each other something,” Pride said, stone-faced, “But I’m not falling for it. I’m not as stupid or as weak as you think I am, Lust.”

There was a long and silent moment. Pride could see tears in the corner of Lust’s eyes, watched his chest rise and fall with each shallow breath, and swallowed around the lump in faer throat. There was so much more fae wanted to say, so much frustration built up over the past few disastrous weeks, but despite all of faer charisma, all the showmanship fae had mastered back in faer youth, there was no putting the emptiness into words.

Pride was still trying, though, mouth moving silently as fae fumbled for something - anything - to say to get faer feelings across. Lust beat faer to it, voice thick and pained as he said, “What is _wrong_ with you?”

It shouldn’t have been possible for Pride’s heart to drop any further, yet here fae was, breath knocked out of faer. “Go to Hell,” fae spat, just so fae could later say that fae had the last word, just to feel a little more in control, and then fae turned and ran. And fae kept running, until fae had left the warehouse completely, and then fae didn’t come back for three days.

**xxx**

One of the crew members leaving the hideout for a few days, or even a few weeks, was not unusual. Not everyone felt comfortable spending their nights there, and most of them were still inclined to take solo jobs on the side. As such, Pride hadn’t anticipated the icy ‘welcome back’ fae received when fae returned from a couple days spent in faer old apartment, the one fae had used to spend every night in before fae had joined up with Wrath and Envy. It was a different kind of silent than when fae had upset everyone at the gallery, a less deliberate but no less vilifying experience. Nobody was outright ignoring Pride - well, except for Envy, but that was obviously different - but fae could hear the hesitation in their voices when they spoke to faer, and fae noticed the glances they shot faer way when they thought fae wasn’t paying attention.

Sloth eventually let it slip, while they were playing the Wii and Pride was sprawled on the couch next to them waiting for faer turn to play the Wii, that the awkwardness was due to what Pride had said to Lust. “It was, uh, kind of harsh, from what Lust told us all after you’d gone,” they had mumbled, brow creased deeply, though Pride suspected that had to do with the fact they were currently losing their virtual race instead of the conversation at hand. “Jus’ think everyone’s on edge around you now.”

The more time that went on, the more Pride realized they were _right_ \- nearly everyone was on eggshells with faer, like they thought fae might start a fight with them out of nowhere if they so much as blinked at faer wrong. It was uncomfortable, and more than a little irritating, but the more Pride expressed this frustration, the more uneasy the hide-out’s atmosphere got.

Only two people weren’t treating Pride like a child three seconds away from a tantrum, and one of them was Envy. Xe was _completely_ avoiding Pride, as if xer life depended on it - fae would walk into a room and xe would retreat into xerself, fleeing before Pride could even fully register xe had been there. From the passing glimpses fae caught of xer, xe looked _terrible,_ the miserable mood of the crew clearly getting to xer. Fae couldn’t find it in faerself to feel particularly sympathetic, unsurprisingly - the cold shoulder Envy was currently receiving was identical to the one fae had received only a month ago.

The other member of the team not tiptoeing around Pride every day was Gluttony, and that seemed to be because he couldn’t care less.

“Where’re you going?” Greed called out to Gluttony one night - she was sitting on the couch with her feet in Wrath’s lap, going over some notes regarding their finances, and Gluttony was pulling a thick sweatshirt on by the door. From where fae was sat on the floor, cellphone in hand, Pride could see Gluttony’s eyes roll in his head.

“Out.”

There was a beat - Greed was clearly expecting more of answer - but when Gluttony moved to open the door without saying anything else, Wrath asked, “Out _where_?”

Pride knew Gluttony was apathetic and antisocial, but Pride also knew he held a certain degree of respect for Wrath and for professionalism in general; that must have been why, instead of ignoring her and leaving as he had planned, Gluttony heaved a massive sigh and elaborated.

“There’s a bodega two blocks down,” he said, “And I want jerky and some Monster and also to not be around you people for a little bit.”

“Oh, let me come!” Pride chimed in, bolting upright - the glare fae received from Gluttony was deadly, but he didn’t say anything as fae stood and made faer way over to stand beside him by the door. The two left together, Pride waving an enthusiastic goodbye to a befuddled Wrath and Greed, Gluttony as silent as ever.

He remained silent, even as they walked alone together, and at first Pride was comfortable with the familiarity of it. As they made their way down the block, however, Pride began to feel paranoid, cold and clammy under faer skin, that Gluttony was just as pissed as everyone else was and hiding it from faer. And if Gluttony was going to treat Pride like a child, the same way _everyone_ was treating faer like a child, Pride figured he should at least be honest about it.

“So you’re mad at me, too, huh?” fae said apropos of nothing, voice entirely too loud for the quiet city street they were walking down - it was almost two in the morning, after all, and a weekday - and entirely too genuine. Fae cleared faer throat and deepened faer frown, arms crossing theatrically across faer chest. Gluttony, to his credit, looked unfazed, as if he had anticipated the outburst from the get-go.

“I’m not mad at you,” he said, though the way he said it made it sound more like an insult than a reassurance, “I just don’t like talking to people, and you _know_ that, so quit being a fucking drama queen, okay?”

He was right. Pride _knew_ he was right, there was a reason Gluttony’s silence was always more comfortable for faer than the silence of any other teammate, but the insecure and slimy feeling still remained. “I know,” fae admitted, keeping faer eyes locked firmly on the ground, “I _know,_ but - can you blame me for a little anxiety? Everyone’s been _so_ touchy recently just because I, like, hurt Lust’s feelings or whatever.”

More than a minute passed in silence after that - Pride really thought it was the end of the conversation, which wasn’t ideal, but fae wasn’t in the mood to push it - until Gluttony suddenly replied, “I think you’re all being stupid. All of you. You, Envy, and _especially_ Lust.”

“Wait, really?” Pride laughed, heart fluttering in faer chest at the idea that Gluttony was on _faer_ side for once, “You think Lust is overreacting, too?”

“Yeah,” replied Gluttony, deeply unaffected by Pride’s sudden good mood, “I agree with you, yeah. I don’t think it’s smart to get all buddy-buddy with the team, y’know, it just makes things _messy_. Everyone deluding themselves into believing we can be friends is stupid.”

“Oh, no, no, you misunderstood!” Pride said with a chuckle and a shake of faer head; it wasn’t often that somebody other than faerself was so confused, and it was a little bit to delightful to watch Gluttony tilt his head at faer in curiosity, a silent request for clarification, “You guys _are_ my friends! I’m just, I’m not gonna give you all _special treatment_ for that, y’know, that’d be stupid.”

Pride watched as Gluttony’s face changed, all at once, to a completely unreadable expression, the type of expression so deadpan it had to be deliberate. Just when fae thought he was going to say something - though _what_ , fae had no idea - he turned sharply away from faer and mumbled a flat, “Well. Okay.”

“What?” Pride said, smile still intact despite the storm of anxiety and confusion brewing deep in faer gut, “Am I still not being clear enou--?”

“We’re here,” Gluttony cut faer off tersely - Pride turned to look where Gluttony was staring and, lo and behold, there it was - the 24-hour bodega every member of the Seven Deadly Sins routinely visited for any number of commodities, from scratch-off lottery tickets to watermelon-flavored rolling papers to ten-ounce bags of gummy Cola bottles.

The bell chimed above their heads as they entered - the cashier could easily recognize any of them by now, and gave a friendly nod in greeting - and Pride watched Gluttony make a beeline to the energy drinks shelved next to the quarts of milk and gallons of distilled water. They didn’t talk for the entire time they were inside the shop, but Pride didn’t mind - fae easily made small talk with the cashier as fae browsed the various candy-colored lighters, and the brief respite from social interaction drained the visible tension from Gluttony’s shoulders.

They checked out separately - Gluttony ended up purchasing two bags of beef jerky, an alarmingly large can of Monster, and a box of medical gauze, while Pride bought three new lighters, a tabloid magazine, and the biggest bag of Sweet Heat Skittles fae could find. As the bell rang yet again to denote their departure, Pride tentatively asked, “So… what should I do about Envy?”

“You want my honest answer?”

“Of course!”

“I don’t care.”

Pride whined, wordlessly and pitchy and loud, barely resisting the urge to reach out and smack Gluttony’s chest in admonishment for getting faer hopes up. The sound clearly grated on Gluttony’s nerves however; his lip curled back in a grimace and, when Pride wouldn’t _stop_ whining, he exclaimed, “Fine, fine, okay! You should talk to xer about it!”

All at once, the sound stopped. “Y’really think so?” Pride said, one hand fiddling with the chain of faer necklace in thought. If looks could kill, the glare Gluttony shot faer would have no doubt put Pride six feet under.

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth.

Pride was tempted to push faer luck, to ask _why_ Gluttony thought fae should do that, but he looked exhausted, and honestly, fae _felt_ exhausted, too. So instead fae just nodded, a small but sincere smile of gratitude on faer face, and together they walked back to the hideout in silence, Gluttony sipping his energy drink and Pride playing a lazy game of Doodle Jump on faer phone.

It was the sound of Gluttony _laughing_ \- a wry and hollow sound, more like a bark than a laugh - that broke Pride out of faer revery eventually. Bewildered, almost certain fae was hallucinating, fae snapped faer head up to stare at Gluttony to find he was looking into the distance, face as close to smug as Pride had ever seen it. Pride followed his gaze all the way to the stoop outside the crew’s hideout, about twenty feet away -

And felt faer stomach sink all the way down to faer feet.

Because there sat none other than _Envy_ , face illuminated by a dying joint and body huddled against the nighttime chill. “Oh, _fuck_ me,” Pride groaned, taking a half-step backwards away from the stoop as if fae could take a half-step back in time, to before fae had seen xer sitting there, “This really isn’t my month, is it?”

“Nope,” Gluttony said, without the slightest hint of pity in his voice, “It sure isn’t.”

“I’m gonna have to walk right past xer to get inside, aren’t I?”

“Yep,” Pride buried faer face in faer hands; Gluttony had the gall to sound _amused_ , “You sure are.”

Fae took four deep breathes in a row to steel faerself, exhales coming out hot and shaky on the palms of faer hands (still pressed against faer face in dread), before standing ramrod straight with a confidence fae didn’t feel at all. “Okay, here we go,” fae said with both fists clenched at faer side, “Lend me your strength.”

“No way,” Gluttony sneered, already moving to go inside without Pride, “You’re on your own, dipshit.” As he passed, however, he gave Pride a rough shove on the shoulder - a rare instance of physical affection that Pride easily translated to Gluttony’s approximation of _good_ _luck._ It brought a smile to faer face, one which Gluttony didn’t see it - he was already halfway up the steps into their home, passing by Envy with a subtle nod.

And then it was just the two of them.

**xxx**

Envy didn’t even flinch as Pride lowered faerself down to sit next to xer. Fae figured xe had heard faer conversation with Gluttony, but wasn’t sure how to feel about that fact once it was apparent to faer. The whole situation felt surreal, dreamlike after months of avoiding it, but one thing was for certain - Envy _did_ look terrible. Xer face was sallow, hollowed out with dark circles beneath both tired eyes; xer hair, usually styled back, slick and just the right amount of mess, was tangled in unwashed hair gel and squashed beneath a burgundy beanie. Xe took a deep drag from xer joint as Pride adjusted faerself on the uncomfortable, crumbly stone of the stoop. For a moment, neither spoke.

“So,” Pride said eventually, soft but far from gentle, “You’re done running away from me now?”

The question was rhetorical, but Envy still answered in a gravelly, worn-out voice. “I’m tired,” xe said, and then paused to exhale a stream of smoke through xer nostrils, “I’m so fucking tired.”

Xe went to take another hit, but the last embers had simmered out in the stiff night breeze. “Here,” Pride said, before fae could think it through, already fishing one of faer new lighters out of the plastic bag fae had gotten from the bodega, “I have a light.”

The surprise was clear as day on Envy’s face, even crouched in the shadows of the stoop, but xe still accepted the proffered baby blue lighter without question. Once the joint was relit, and Envy had gotten to take another hit from it, xe spoke, sounding substantially more stable, though still just as drained. “What exactly did you want from me?”

“I want to talk,” said Pride, though it was an obvious lie - all fae really wanted to do was curl back up in faer bed with faer candy and faer phone, “I want to talk shit out.”

“Fuck,” Envy said with a hiss and another cloud of smoke, “I need to be, like, ten times less sober for this conversation.”

“Too bad,” Pride said as fae tore faer bag of Skittles open, “I’m not interested in sitting out here all night.”

Envy gave no indication that xe had even heard Pride at first, merely continued to sit and smoke. Fae was just starting to get impatient and ready to yell at xer when xe said, “They all hate me now, you know.”

 _They hate me, too,_ Pride thought to faerself at the same time fae said to Envy, “What were you expecting?”

“Hell, I don’t know,” xe grumbled, xer free hand sliding up xer face to knot itself in xer mess of bleach-blond hair, “I don’t. Fucking… _know_ , anymore, man, I’m just so _sick,”_ and here xer voice trembled, and then broke, glass dropped on the sidewalk they were huddled over, “And nobody’s even _lookin’_ at me anymore, I’m so damn disgusting.”

“Don’t forget that just a few weeks ago, everyone was treating _me_ like shit, too, you--,”

“Is this you trying to help?” Envy harshly cut faer off, turning to glare pointedly at faer. Xe had already shed a few tears, eyes rimmed red and cheeks blotchy, “Like, are you trying to empathize with me right now, or some shit? All you, all you ever do is _hurt_ people, Pride, is that on purpose?”

In the split second after Envy asked xer question, Pride thought of many things - Gluttony squirming anxiously in his seat; the crumpled body of the security officer at the gallery, sprawled and bleeding at faer feet; the mascara-darkened trails on Envy’s cheeks, illuminated by Greed’s headlights; Lust’s voice as he tried to hold back tears; a bomb detonator, almost slipping out of faer furious, shaking hands - and chose the vaguest answer that still felt honest to faer.

“Sometimes.”

Envy took a long drag after that, presumably to settle xer nerves; Pride could see the shaking in xer hands decrease with each inhale. Two minutes passed in this silence before Pride decided to speak again, once Envy looked less close to tears. “I’m not going to apologize,” fae said, as if it were a promise, as if fae thought Envy might thank faer for it.

“Yeah,” xe sighed, head lolling back with the exhale, “I figured as such.” There was a beat, and then xe added, far less confidently, “Neither will I, for the record.”

Another, longer beat passed.

“You want some Skittles?” Pride offered, giving the bag of candy a little, unnecessary shake as if to clarify.

“Those are the real nasty hot kind you love, right?” asked Envy with a look on xer face that made it clear xe knew the answer already and was going to accept the offer anyways. “…Yeah, pass that shit.”

Pride shook a handful of Skittles into Envy’s open palm, who accepted them with a grumbled thanks. Xe didn’t pop them into xer mouth straight away, however, instead staring at the little cluster of candy with a great deal of intensity - Pride assumed it was just an excuse to avoid looking faer in the eye. “How do you do it,” xe said eventually, slowly, deliberately deadpan, “You’re really just _like_ this, huh? It’s so effortless for you. To be you.”

It wasn’t a question fae ever expected to be asked, rhetorically or not, and fae found fae couldn’t answer. Not at first, at least.  Being faerself was second-nature to faer, after all, that much was true - but Pride also knew that wasn’t always the case. Everything about faerself was a skill fae had been cultivating for years, and that _did_ take effort, but that didn’t make it insincere. This wasn’t the first time someone had asked if Pride was just pretending when fae acted how fae did, but it was the first time someone had said it like it might be a good thing. The way Envy spoke, voice watery and reverential, as if Pride had found the answer to a question that been plaguing xer for _years_ , made Pride feel seasick.

While Pride floundered for a reply, Envy’s face began to fall apart again, shoulders sagging beneath an invisible weight and eyes dark and unreadable. At some point, when Pride wasn’t paying attention, xe must have eaten xer handful of candy - or at least slipped them into the pocket of the oversized bomber jacket xe was wearing - because one of xer hands was now free to tap an uneven beat on top of xer knee.

“I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not,” fae settled on saying; Envy’s hand flew to xer mouth like xe feared xe might vomit, and despite faerself, Pride backpedaled hurriedly, afraid that fae was making things worse instead of better, “I - I don’t understand what you’re saying, I mean - are you even asking me a real question?”

Envy scoffed and ashed xer joint with a deft flick of the wrist before answering, “Of course _you_ wouldn’t get it, God, what was I _thinking._ ” Xe buried xer face in both hands, legs pulled flush to xer chest, trying desperately to shrink smaller and smaller until xe might disappear from sight, “Nobody else is pathetic enough to be actin’ all the fuckin’ time, God, Nova, you’re a mess.”

Staring at Envy in that moment, talking to xerself and folded into a tight and shaking ball, Pride had a realization, one that was both startlingly sudden and obvious-in-hindsight. “You and me are nothing alike,” fae said with a blink, and just like that, all of the rage and jealousy of the past month and a half melted into a sense of calm fae hadn’t felt in _so long_. There was never any competition.

Envy, on the other hand, seemed devastated by Pride’s revelation; when xe looked back up at Pride, xer face was scrunched tight, hot tears guttering xer cheeks, “You don’t need to _fucking_ rub it in!” xe spat, but xe didn’t sound angry, just tired and broken and terrified, “I already know that, okay? I already know I’ll never actually be like you!”

“No, no,” said Pride, shaking faer head rapidly in a vain attempt to get Envy to understand, “That’s _good,_ you shouldn’t be like me - nobody should!” Faer words didn’t have the effect fae desired though - if possible, Envy looked even more upset, scrubbing tiredly at xer eyes and groaning, “I don’t want you to be similar to me. I don’t want anyone to feel the way I feel.”

It was meant to sound confident - fae was trying to be confident - but the words came out empty, and the silence that followed them was deafening.  Envy was looking at faer through a crack in xer fingers, and Pride’s face flushed hot with embarrassment.

There a few seconds where neither spoke, Envy sniffling and pawing at xer face between drags, and for once Pride was content to stay silent, to wait for someone else to speak first. Fae felt whatever Envy might say next to faer was vital, that this was a point of no return and while a large part of faer wanted to stand up and run, something kept faer body glued to the asphalt, huddled against the chill and staring expectantly at Envy.

“Do… do you ever,” when Envy spoke, xe spoke very slowly, voice trembling but never quite cracking, though it was a near thing, “Do you ever just feel, like, _nothing_? Like inside of you, there’s nothing?” Faer blood ran cold, but Envy didn’t notice, eyes unfocused and watery, “There’s nothing inside of you where there should be something, because everyone else has something?”

“No,” Pride said, entirely too quickly, faer voice entirely too afraid, because how the _fuck_ did Envy know about the hollowness, it was the one secret Pride had ever been smart enough to keep. Lust had asked faer _what is wrong with you_ and in that moment Pride knew faer answer would have been _I don’t know, I want to know but I don’t, and I’m sorry._

Fae didn’t tell Envy any of this, however, just squeezed faer eyes shut tight until they stopped burning and insisted through clenched teeth, “I’m fine. Shut up. I’m fine.”

Even to faer own ears, the word sounded pathetic and dishonest, but Envy - bless xer heart - didn’t say a word, just shifted slightly on the stoop beside faer to bump xer shoulder against Pride’s, a silent act of comfort.

“You’re fine,” Envy echoed, and while Pride’s eyes were still screwed shut fae could _hear_ the tears in xer voice, “I’ll shut up.”

For a moment, it seemed like that might be the end of the conversation, but Pride felt too restless to stay quiet for long. For once in faer life, the notion that fae wasn’t alone in something, that there was apart of faer that fae could share, was comforting instead of horrible. Fae peeled faer eyes open slowly, and blinked until faer vision cleared, to look Envy in xer face - the tears on xer face had dried, leaving messy tracts down xer cheeks, and xer eyes were dry.

“I didn’t know anyone else felt that way,” Pride mumbled, so softly fae almost hoped xe wouldn’t hear and so vaguely fae definitely hoped xe wouldn’t understand.

“I didn’t know _you_ specifically would feel that way,” said Envy, “I mean. You’re Pride. You’re everything I’m trying to be.”

“You shouldn’t-,” Pride slammed faer mouth shut when faer voice wavered, dangerously close to crying again. The hollowness was gone, replaced by a writhing mass of anxiety in faer chest. It wasn’t an improvement, necessarily, but it was a start. It was the closest thing to _better_ Pride had felt since the gallery heist.

Despite faer best efforts, fresh tears slid from faer eyes, and fae let out a groan of frustration. “God, feelings suck,” fae snapped at nothing and nobody in particular, succeeding, somehow, in sounding more angry than depressed.

“Yup,” said Envy, succeeding in sounding more tired than broken.

There was a beat of silence, awkward but companionable. “Can I take a hit?” fae asked with a nervous smile.

Another beat. “Of course,” xe said, and when xe smiled back at Pride - timid and shaky and barely visible in the dim city lights - it finally reached xer eyes. _Yeah,_ Pride thought to faerself as fae took the joint from Envy’s hands, _Definitely a start._

**Author's Note:**

> anyways yeah !! thanks for readin y'all , i love gay teen zone, i love ocs, i hope y'all loved this!
> 
> no pressure to leave a comment ik writing feedback for fic can be tricky, but if u have any thoughts i'd love to hear 'em , this fic means a lot to me bc its been collaborative in a rlly fun way - what w/ only ONE character belonging to me - so any responses would mean a lot 2 me, too !!!!
> 
> :babyplumpee:


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